The Tarot Room – Georgianna

Here’s a picture of Mandrake as found in the Ortus sanitatis from 1491. (Or at least my attempt at drawing her.)

I found it on the fabulous site Public Domain Image Archive.

Isn’t she a perfect Empress? …

One of my very favourite mugs ever …

Look at what someone gave me!! A set of Tarot Embroidery patterns! It’s the whole Major Arcana, plus a few mystical extras.

I probably could have waited to post about them till after I actually did some magical stitching, but I didn’t want to. It’s too fun.

Not sure when, but I will be posting my embroidered results when I get some done … stay tuned.

A couple of my favourite decks …

It’s not part of Georgie’s Magic Card Collection, but it is part of my Magic Book Library, and it is Tarot themed … The Lost Tarot by Sarah Henstra, published in 2024 by Doubleday Canada.

5 Points About This Book

1. Genre: The Lost Tarot is a novel, fiction, not a how-to guide on how to read Tarot (but it’s good anyway!)
2. Chapter Titles – Tarot anchors the book with chapters running from the Fool through the World, finally ending with the Fool again.
3. Themes: Not only does the story of The Lost Tarot swirl around Tarot themes, it also features a couple of my other obsessions – cults and art. Not to mention, two of the main characters are from the University of Toronto … my own alma mater. If you were putting together a novel that I might be interested in – this one is almost too on point …I love it
4. Story: Tells the story of a search for a surrealist Tarot deck thought to be either a fake, or mostly burnt up in a terrible fire. It’s a fabulous tale taking us from Toronto to England to Wales, and across time from 1938 to today… through cults, galleries, psychedelic trips, and university politics. The Lost Tarot explores the idea of what it means to be a Seer.
5. Tarot: Not much actual Tarot reading in the story (I think there was a three card spread in the Devil chapter), but some of the cards being searched for are described. Wow, I’d love to have a copy of the Ringold Tarot (the name of the deck in the book). I wish they’d made one as a companion piece… sounds gorgeous, if not a little disturbing.

All in all, I think Tarot enthusiasts (and non-enthusiasts alike) will really enjoy The Lost Tarot. Plenty of unexpected twists and some absolutely beautiful imagery. And of course, underneath and above it all, the inspiring magic of Tarot.

Through the years, I’ve painted a lot of wooden boxes meant to hold Tarot cards. They’ve been in all sorts of different colours, sizes, and designs, but never have I ever done one that actually had Tarot images on it … until now!!

Here it is! My first Tarot themed Tarot box! It’s a little rough hewn for sure … and I’m not sure I should be allowed to use so many colours … but I think I like it anyway.

Based on the Rider-Waite-Smith images, I’ve got the High Priestess, Empress, Fool, Magician, Emperor, and Hierophant. The Moon is on the bottom, and inside is The Sun and The Star.

Sorry for the not so great photos, and I can’t seem to format this page correctly, but I think you get the idea.

I wonder what deck wants to live here …

Have you noticed that I’ve been slowly replacing the images of The Tarot Room’s Tarot Cards of the Day? If you’re a regular visitor, you probably have. I started doing this sometime back in May when I decided that I was sick of the old images.

Don’t get me wrong, I like my old Georgie’s Tarot … I even had printed copies made and gave them out to friends and family. It was the first deck I ever drew. But I drew it 22 years ago when I first learnt to draw on the computer (not to mention, when I was still learning to draw in general). So I thought it was time for a bit of a renewal.

The pictures I’ve been drawing to replace the old ones copy the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot ,just as Georgie’s Tarot did. The biggest difference is that they were drawn by hand on paper, much more quickly, and with far less angst over each stroke. I used water-colour pencils and my favourite black ink brush pen. The new cards are a little sloppier, but maybe more fun. Or at least I think so.

It’s likely that’ll I’ll be redrawing some of these new images as I go along. I’ll keep doing it till I’m satisfied.

So don’t be surprised if a card you’ve been accustomed to seeing suddenly changes its look … not that you would be, just thought I’d mention it.

Hope your day is good.

A picture I drew of a picture of me reading cards …